Because Elise is chomping at the bit (thanks Elise, for the impetus!), I am opening up nominations for the second Mind on Fire Reading Group. The first one was a great success. We debated Sam Harris’ The End of Faith across multiple blogs, and about ten of us met in person at an undisclosed (but delicious) location in Southern California for a face-to-face discussion (that ended peacefully, with all limbs intact).
Please submit your recommendations in the comments. Everyone (even Mind on Fire noobies) is welcome to make a submission. Here are the guidelines:
- The books should fit the general theme/purpose of the site, as stated in the “about” blurb in the upper right of this page (you may have to leave the RSS reader to view it).
Popular, thought-provoking books on doubt, religion or spirituality would fit both the theme and probably make for good discussion. - If you can, please list the title and author of each book with a link to Amazon. If this is too technical or too much work, then just the title and author with a few words on why it would make for good discussion would be fine.
- Please submit no more than three titles per person, to keep the list manageable. I’ll accept nominations under nicknames, but please submit your valid email address in the comment (it will be kept private, though I may use it to communicate with you).
From the list of nominees, I will pick a number of the titles for the final vote. The book selection will be based on how well they fit this site’s theme, how accessible they are (e.g. in print, relatively inexpensive, and not written for an academic audience), what kind of discussion they might generate, and how timely the topic seems.
Reading Group 2.0 is now open for nominations! Have at it!
17 responses so far ↓
1 Ryan Heard // Nov 16, 2006 at 12:39 am
1. Breaking the Spell by Daniel Dennett
ooor…
2. American Theocracy by Kevin Phillips.
I’m sorta new ’round here… hope those choices fit!
2 Elise // Nov 16, 2006 at 9:37 am
Chomping at the bit, eh?!? What can I say, I’m a type A solid red personality!
1. Life After Death: The Burden of Proof
by Deepak Chopra
2. The Question of God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud Debate God, Love, Sex, and the Meaning of Life
by Armand Nicholi
3. The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew–Three Women Search for Understanding
by Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver, Priscilla Warner, Suzanne Oliver, Priscilla Warner
4. The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
by Eckhart Tolle
5. Letters to a Spiritual Seeker
by Henry David Thoreau, Bradley P. Dean (Editor)
3 Miko // Nov 16, 2006 at 9:39 am
hmm…my first thought, left to my own devices, is the Way of the Pilgrim, by some pilgrim, one presumes. I actually have a copy of this translation (hence my recommendation) but I’ve not yet read it.
My second choice is more than one, but a vote for one of your original ideas as I’ve still not read any of them and they all look interesting.
My third choice, based on your “male feminism” subject is Bell Hooks’ Feminism is for Everybody. Again, I’ve not read it so promise nothing about its content, but…
4 Watt Mahoun // Nov 16, 2006 at 10:19 am
Lots of great suggestions…we can’t go wrong.
A book I’d love, just love to read with y’all is E.O. Wilson’s latest:
The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth
From the intro to an article on Wilson in SEED:
5 Caroline T. // Nov 16, 2006 at 12:01 pm
American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation by Jon Meachem
American Gospel tackles the religious beliefs of our Founding Fathers (as well as other U.S. presidents). Meachem disputes the conservative claim that the Founding Fathers wanted to establish a Christian nation while also acknowleding that most of these men were indeed practicing Christians.
A fitting book considering our currently charged political atmosphere!
6 pilgrimgirl // Nov 16, 2006 at 12:17 pm
I’m going to second Watt’s suggestion of E.O. Wilson’s latest book, _The Creation_ and I’ll throw another book into the fray: _Peace Pilgrim: Her Life and Work in Her Own Words_
7 Caroline // Nov 16, 2006 at 3:47 pm
This may be too narrow (Christian) in focus but I’m very interested in Open Christianity by Jim Burklo.
According to Amazon:
“Open Christianity” is an invitation to keep the faith but drop the dogma. Many Christian-heritage seekers struggle with conflicted yearning. They value much that the tradition offers. But the church door feels closed unless they accept beliefs at odds with logic and the truth of their hearts. “Open Christianity” maintains that yes, you can leave behind that which has ceased to make sense, and still be very Christian. Burklo’s discussion of complex topics such as “a theology of ‘enough’,” “soulful sexuality” and “the gospel truth” will be controversial–but enlightening. A product of the author’s work as a Stanford chaplain, a Protestant pastor, and an urban/street minister, this book encourages spiritual growth that won’t founder on efforts to believe the unbelievable.
8 Elise // Nov 16, 2006 at 5:23 pm
American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation by Jon Meachem from Caroline T. (response #5)
and
Open Christianity by Jim Burklo from Caroline (response #7) are my two favorite suggestions so far……..
9 Mark G. // Nov 17, 2006 at 12:20 am
I just received End of Faith in the mail today woohoo!! Now I’m finally ready for the Mind on Fire reading group part one…. Wait…you’re all done now? Maybe for round two I’ll have to pick up the title from the library while I wait for my Amazon order to arrive in the mail.
I also just received The God Delusion and Letter to a Christian Nation (which I am enjoying immensely) so those would be my two nominations.
10 Miko // Nov 17, 2006 at 9:38 am
I’d like whatever we choose to be available in paperback…
11 T-Bone // Nov 19, 2006 at 10:32 pm
You might want to look at _Value and Virtue in a Godless Universe_ by Erik Weilenberg (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2005).
12 Dave // Nov 21, 2006 at 8:36 am
Open Christianity sounds like a very discussable book. It appears to be similar to When Jesus Came to Harvard by Harvey Cox, another recent book by a college chaplain type of author.
The Thoreau book is my second choice. Reading classics is always a good idea.
I just read Meacham’s American Gospel and posted a short review at Mormon Inquiry. It’s a nice read but I think it’s really making civic and political culture points, not religious or spiritual ones. I suspect it’s not quite right for the reading group.
13 Dave // Nov 21, 2006 at 11:30 am
There’s always Mere christianity by CS Lewis. It has the advantage of being short and widely available in paperback or from your local library.
14 John White // Nov 21, 2006 at 4:24 pm
I believe I mentioned Misquoting Jesus by Bart Ehrman. From Amazon: The popular perception of the Bible as a divinely perfect book receives scant support from Ehrman, who sees in Holy Writ ample evidence of human fallibility and ecclesiastical politics. Though himself schooled in evangelical literalism, Ehrman has come to regard his earlier faith in the inerrant inspiration of the Bible as misguided, given that the original texts have disappeared and that the extant texts available do not agree with one another.
15 Matt Thurston // Nov 21, 2006 at 5:09 pm
I’d be in favor of Misquoting Jesus by Ehrman as well.
I also wouldn’t mind Ryan’s suggestion: Breaking the Spell by Daniel Dennett.
16 Chris Rusch // Nov 22, 2006 at 10:10 pm
I’d be in favor of another of Ehrman’s books calle lost Christianities, the battles for faiths we never knew. I have part of it and it is very interesting and would provide some great discussion.
17 John // Nov 22, 2006 at 10:42 pm
Great nominations! I’m closing the comments now, and will produce a list for voting in the next few days.